Method And System For 60 GHZ Antenna Adaptation And User Coordination Based On Base Station Beacons

ABSTRACT

Information may be communicated between two or more wireless devices via adaptive or steered antennas or antenna systems and 60 GHz signals. The adaptive or steered antennas or antenna systems may be initialized based upon location information determined from a beacon signal and/or a reference system. The beacon signal may be swept through an angle and may be utilized along with reference system information to determine the direction and/or distance between the two or more wireless devices. Spatial relationships between the two or more wireless devices may vary. The two or more wireless devices may communicate and coordinate communications between them via alternate lower frequency signals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS/INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This application makes reference to and claims priority to U.S.Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/944,011 (Attorney Docket No.18656US01), filed on Jun. 14, 2007, which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Certain embodiments of the invention relate to wireless communication.More specifically, certain embodiments of the invention relate to amethod and system for 60 GHz antenna adaptation and user coordinationbased on base station beacons.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The field of wireless communication has seen dramatic growth the lastfew years. In today's world, most people use their mobile devices, be itcellular phones, PDA's, laptops, media players and/or other devices forbusiness and personal use on a constant and daily basis. Often multipleusers within a local environment operate on a plurality of wirelessinterfaces. In addition to voice and data communication such as emailand internet browsing, these devices may enable high speed data transfersuch as video streaming or multi-user gaming wherein multiple usersinteract with one or more video display applications. Wireless serviceproviders may offer links via various wireless technologies such as GSM,CDMA or WIMAX for wide area communications while links utilized within alocal region or interior space may comprise technologies such aswireless local area networks (WLAN) and wireless personal area networks(WPAN).

Many service providers offer location based services for hand heldwireless devices. These location based services may utilize satellitereference systems such as the Global Positioning system (GPS). The GPSsystem comprises 24 medium orbit satellites that enable devicescomprising GPS receivers to determine position and time. The devices maycalculate their position by measuring their distance from three or moreGPS satellites. In some instances, the GPS system may be utilized as aclock reference for a plurality of devices that depend on a known timereference.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, throughcomparison of such systems with the present invention as set forth inthe remainder of the present application with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system and/or method for 60 GHz antenna adaptation and usercoordination based on base station beacons, substantially as shown inand/or described in connection with at least one of the figures, as setforth more completely in the claims.

Various advantages, aspects and novel features of the present invention,as well as details of an illustrated embodiment thereof, will be morefully understood from the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system for 60GHz antenna adaptation and user coordination based on base stationbeacons, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary wireless basestation and mobile station communicating via one or more wireless linkscomprising a 60 GHz wireless link and a plurality of lower frequencywireless links, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system that mayperform location determination measurements via one or more 60 GHzwireless links and/or one or more lower frequency links, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system that mayperform location determination measurements via one or more 60 GHzwireless links and/or one or more lower frequency links, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention, in accordance with an embodiment ofthe invention.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system that maycommunicate via one or more 60 GHz wireless links via highly directionaladaptive antennas, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that illustrates exemplary steps for locationdetermination and antenna adaptation utilizing a 60 GHz wireless link,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Certain aspects of the invention may be found in a method and system for60 GHz antenna adaptation and user coordination based on base stationbeacons. Various aspects of the invention may enable communicationbetween two or more wireless devices via a 60 GHz wireless link. In thisregard, 60 GHz transmissions may utilize any available unlicensedmillimeter wave frequency band within the range of 57 to 66 GHz. Due tothe characteristics of radio wave propagation at extremely highfrequencies, 60 GHz wireless links may be best utilized forcommunication over short distances and may be transmitted in highlydirectional beams. Accordingly, a pair of antennas enabled as 60 GHz,transmitting and receiving link partners may need to be preciselyaligned in order to maintain communication. Adaptive antennas may beutilized to maintain such an alignment between two 60 GHz link partnersduring transmissions. However, determining the initial alignment viaadaptive antenna signal processing may be time consuming. Therefore,various location determination techniques may be utilized to aid in theinitial alignment of antennas utilized in 60 GHz communications. Forexample, a beacon signal may be transmitted from a base station to aidin location determination of one or more mobile devices. The beacon maybe transmitted via a directional radiation pattern that may be sweptthrough an angle over azimuth or altitude for example. The base stationand mobile stations may utilize angle and/or distance measurements basedon the beacon to locate the mobile stations and map their positions.

In some embodiments of the invention, the location determination processmay be aided by global positioning system (GPS) data, a terrestrialreference system, and/or a compass for position and/or time references.The base station and mobile stations may share location determinationinformation in order to enable 60 GHz transmissions via adaptiveantennas. In this regard, the base station and mobile stations maycomprise a plurality of wireless interfaces for communication tasks suchas device discovery, initial connection, security operations,application operations, location determination enablement and locationinformation sharing for example.

In some embodiments of the invention, antenna arrays may be utilizedthat enable beamforming such as in phased arrays, for example, to modifythe direction of transmission and/or reception. Beamforming may be basedon improving signal to noise ratio (SNR) and/or received signalstrength. Accordingly, signal processing may be utilized to adjust theamplitude and/or phase of signal components and therefore modify beam orsensitivity direction via the antenna array. Adaptive beamforming mayenable modification of the beam direction according to perceived varyingspatial relationships between wireless devices. In some aspects of theinvention, switched beamforming may be utilized. In this regard, thedirection of radiation may be switched through a plurality of fixed beampatterns.

FIG. 1A is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system for 60GHz antenna adaptation and user coordination based on base stationbeacons, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring toFIG. 1A, there is shown two wireless devices, a base station 102 and amobile station 104. The two wireless devices 102 and 104 may eachcomprise at least a processor block 112, a memory block 114, a 60 GHzblock 110 a and antenna interfaces 116 and 118 respectively. Inaddition, the base station 102 and mobile station 104 may each compriseone or more of a wireless local area network (WLAN) block 110 b, awireless personal area network (WPAN) block 110 c, and/or a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver 110 d. The base station 102 and mobilestation 104 are not limited to these specific wireless technologyinterfaces and may comprise any suitable wireless interface, forexample, any type of cellular and/or WIMAX technologies may be utilized.

The base station 102 and mobile station 104 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code that may enable wireless communication via one ormore of the wireless interfaces 60 GHz 110 a, WLAN 110 b, WPAN 110 cand/or GPS receiver 110 d. For example, the highly directional 60 GHzinterface 110 a may be utilized for location determination operationsand or data transfer. Communications via one or more of the lowerfrequency band interfaces, for example, WLAN 110 b and/or WPAN 110 c mayenable tasks such as device discovery, connection initiation, securityoperations, data transfer, service coordination and/or locationdetermination for example. In some embodiments of the invention, thebase station 102, may control and coordinate operations among one ormore mobile stations such as mobile station 104. For example, the basestation 102 may communicate mobile station position information to oneor more mobile stations that may enable mobile stations to adaptantennas for highly directional 60 GHz communications.

The base station 102 and/or mobile station 104 may not be limited withregard to any specific software application. For example, the 60 GHzwireless interfaces 110 a may be utilized for high speed multi uservideo gaming or video streaming for example and the base station 102and/or mobile station 104 may comprise video displays. In addition, themobile station 104 and/or base station 102 may be enable internet accessfor browsing, gaming, data retrieval and/or voice over internet protocol(VOIP). The wireless multimode devices 102 and/or 104 may enablewireless phone connections for example.

The base station 102 may be a stand-alone stationary device or may besubstantially the same as or similar to the mobile station device 104.In some embodiments of the invention, the base station 102 may beincorporated into a device such as a set-top box, a home gateway orgaming console for example. Moreover, the base station 102 may act as aresidential gateway and may connect to the internet or another networkvia a line and/or wireless connection. Furthermore, the base station 102may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and or code to transmit a beaconsignal via the 60 GHz link 110 a or via a lower frequency wirelessinterface for example WLAN 110 b or WPAN 110 c.

The processor blocks 112 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and orcode to enable a plurality of tasks for the base station 102 and mobilestation 104. For example the processor block 112 may enable locationdetermination tasks that may comprise processing spatial information andmapping mobile station positions. The processor block 112 may enablecoordination of communication operations for one or more mobile stations104. Antenna management and signal processing, for example beamforming,may be enabled within the processor block 112. In addition, theprocessor block 112 may enable applications operations, for example,gaming or digital image rendering processes. In this regard, theprocessor block 112 may comprise one or more general purpose processorsand/or one or more special purpose processors. The processor block 112may be communicatively coupled to the memory block 114, the antennablock 116 or 118, the 60 GHz block 110 a, WLAN block 110 b, WPAN block110 c and or the GPS receiver 110 d.

The memory blocks 114 may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and or codeto store and retrieve data for the base station 102 and mobile station104. In addition to supporting communications, gaming and/or imageprocessing operations, the memory block 114 may support locationdetermination operations. The memory block 114 may be communicativelycoupled with the processor block 112, the antenna block 116 or 118, the60 GHz block 110 a, WLAN block 110 b, WPAN block 110 c and or the GPSreceiver 110 d.

The antenna block 116 in the base station 102 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry and or code to enable transmission and/or reception ofsignals between the base station 102 and one or more mobile stationssuch as mobile station 104. The antenna block 116 may comprise one ormore antenna elements and/or antenna arrays. In this regard, beamformingvia adaptive signal processing and/or beam switching may be utilized for60 GHz communications. Antennas may be wide band and/or narrow band andmay vary with respect to radiation pattern according to the needs of aspecific design. In addition, the antenna block 116 may enabletransmission of a pilot or beacon signal which may be radiated in anomni directional pattern or may be radiated in a directional pattern andmay be swept through an angle over azimuth or altitude for example. Inthis regard, the beacon may be transmitted on the 60 GHz wirelessinterface 110 a or on a lower frequency interface such as WLAN 110 b orWPAN 110 c via a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band carrier for example. The antennablock 116 may be communicatively coupled with the 60 GHz block 110 a,the WLAN block 110 b, the WPAN block 110 c, the GPS receiver 110 dand/or any other wireless transceiver suitable for the base station 102.In addition, the antenna block 116 may be communicatively coupled withthe processor block 112 and the memory block 114.

The antenna block 118 in the mobile station 104 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry and or code to enable transmission and/or reception ofsignals between the mobile station 104 and the base station 102 as wellas between two or more mobile stations such as the mobile station 104.The antenna block 118 may comprise one or more antenna elements and/orantenna arrays and may enable beamforming for example via adaptivesignal processing or beam switching for 60 GHz communications betweentwo or more mobile stations and/or between a mobile station and a basestation 102. Antennas may be wide band and/or narrow band and may varywith respect to radiation pattern according to the needs of a specificdesign. In addition, the antenna block 118 may enable reception of apilot or beacon signal from the base station 102. The pilot signal maybe received via an omni directional pattern antenna or a directionalpattern antenna as well as an antenna enabled to adapt to varying signaldirection. In this regard, the beacon may be received on the 60 GHzwireless interface 110 a or on a lower frequency interface such as WLAN110 b or WPAN 110 c via a 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz band carrier for example. Theantenna block 118 may be communicatively coupled with the 60 GHz block110 a, the WLAN block 110 b, the WPAN block 110 c, the GPS receiver 110d and/or any other wireless transceiver suitable for the mobile station104. In addition, the antenna block 118 may be communicatively coupledwith the processor block 112 and the memory block 114 within the mobilestation 104.

The 60 GHz physical interface 110 a may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code to enable communications within a local regionrelative to the base station 102 and mobile station 104. The 60 GHzinterface may, for example, enable local file transfers, videoconnections and/or high speed gaming for one or more users. The 60 GHzblock may comprise a physical layer interface or a physical layerinterface and a medium access control (MAC) layer. 60 GHz signals may betransmitted short distances, point to point, in a highly directionalradiating pattern. In addition, the 60 GHz interface 110 a may enablelocation determination operations for the base station 102 and/or themobile station 104. In addition, the 60 GHz physical interface maysupport high speed data transfer via an ultra wide band (UWB) technologyfor example, or other wireless technologies.

The wireless local area network (WLAN) block 110 b may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry and or code to enable communications within a localregion relative to the base station 102 and mobile station 104. The WLANblock 110 b may support an IEEE 802.11 physical layer (PHY) or a PHY anda media access control (MAC) layer. In addition, the WLAN block 110 bmay operate on a lower portion of spectrum, for example, near 2.4 GHzand/or 5 GHz for example. The WLAN block 110 b may be utilized tocommunicate and/or retrieve data from a computer or network, for examplevideo and/or audio data. Moreover, the WLAN block 110 b may be utilizedto access the internet for retrieval of audio/video data, web surfingand/or voice over IP for example. In some embodiments of the invention,the WLAN may be utilized to support location determination by sharinggeo-location information obtained via the 60 GHz block 110 a and/or GPSblock 110 d with one or more devices.

The wireless personal area network (WPAN) block 110 c may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry and or code to enable communications within alocal region relative to the base station 102 and/or 104. The WPAN block110 c may comprise for example, a Bluetooth transceiver comprising aphysical layer interface or a physical layer interface and a mediumaccess control (MAC) layer. The WPAN block 110 c may support operationsin the 2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHz frequency bands or may operate in othersuitable spectrum. The WPAN block 110 c is not limited with regard towireless technologies and may, for example, support frequency hopping orUWB technology capable of high speed file transfer such as Wimedia. TheWPAN block 110 c may enable device discovery, security operations and/orgeneral administrative activity among the base station 102 and mobilestation 104. The WPAN block 110 c may be communicatively coupled withthe processor block 112, the memory block 114 and/or the antenna blocks116 and/or 118.

The GPS block 110 d may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and or codeto enable communications with Global Positioning System (GPS)satellites. The GPS block 110 d may comprise a GPS receiver enablingreception of spread spectrum signals carrying information that enablesclock synchronization and/or coarse position determination for civilianapplications or more precise position determination for militaryapplications. GPS information comprising satellite position, currenttime and measured delay of the received signal, may be utilized tocalculate a position fix for the base station 102 and/or the mobilestation 104. Position errors caused by atmospheric conditions,multi-path signals, clock errors and other physical conditions may beprocessed for improved accuracy. The GPS block 110 d may becommunicatively coupled with the processor block 112, the memory block114 and the antenna block 116 and/or 118.

In operation, the base station 102 and mobile station 104 maycommunicate via multiple wireless interfaces comprising a 60 GHzinterface 110 a and one or more lower frequency wireless interfaces 110b and/or 110 c. Moreover, the base station 102 and/or one or more mobilestations may communicate via adaptive antennas. The 60 GHz block 110 a,WLAN block 110 b, WPAN block 110 c and/or the GPS block 110 d may enablelocation determination operations. In this regard, the 60 GHz block 110a may improve the precision of location information that may be based onlower bandwidth measurements. In addition, high speed data transfer, forexample audio and/or video data, may be transmitted between the basestation 102 and mobile station 104 or between two or more mobilestations such as mobile station 104 via the 60 GHz physical interface110 a.

The lower frequency interfaces, for example WLAN 110 b and/or WPAN 110c, may be utilized to enable application and communication operationsamong the base station 102 and mobile station 104. For example, lowerfrequency interfaces may be utilized to transfer data with regard tosecurity and/or coordination among devices. A WPAN interface 110 c may,for example, enable discovery of devices within a local region. A WLANinterface 110 b may, for example, enable sharing of locationdetermination information among devices. In addition, the lowerfrequency interfaces WLAN 110 b and/or WPAN 110 c may enable locationdetermination of mobile stations. In this regard, location informationgathered via the lower frequency interfaces WLAN 110 b and/or WPAN 110 cinterfaces for example, may be utilized to aid in establishing highlydirectional 60 GHz connections via adaptive antennas between the basestation 102 and mobile station 104 or between two or more mobilestations 104. In another aspect of the invention, the WLAN physicalinterface 110 b and/or WPAN 110 c interfaces may be utilized byapplications running on the base station 102 to distribute informationretrieved from a network.

The base station 102 and/or mobile station 104 may be utilized in aplurality of applications that may comprise multi-user high speedwireless gaming and/or audio/video wireless data transfer and renderingfor example. The invention is not limited with regard to specificapplications and the base station 102 and/or mobile station 104 maysupport a plurality of applications.

FIG. 1B is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary wireless basestation and mobile station communicating via one or more wireless linkscomprising a 60 GHz wireless link and a plurality of lower frequencywireless links, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 1B, there is shown a base station 102 and mobilestation 104, a lower frequency wireless link 106, a 60 GHz wireless link108, an optional line or wireless communications link 154 and anoptional network 120.

The base station 102 may be the same or similar to the base station 102described in FIG. 1A. The base station 102 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code to enable wireless communication via one or morewireless interfaces as well as enable location determination of one ormore mobile stations 104 via a 60 GHz wireless link 108 and/or a lowerfrequency wireless link 108. In addition, the base station 102 may becapable of receiving GPS information for location determinationassistance. In one embodiment of the invention, the base station 102 maybe connected to a line and/or wireless network 120 that may be, forexample, the internet. Accordingly, the base station 102 may act as anaccess point and/or a gateway to a network for one or more local devicessuch as the mobile station 104. In addition, the base station 102 mayserve as a coordinator and/or controller of operations in relation toone or more devices such as mobile station 104 and may change roles withanother device such as the mobile station 104, wherein the other devicebecomes the coordinator and/or controller of operations. Moreover, thebase station 102 may handle peer to peer relationships with one or moredevices such the mobile station 104. The base station 102 may be astationary unit or may be portable or mobile. In this regard, the basestation 104 may be a stand alone unit or may, for example, beincorporated in a WLAN access point, a set top box, a game console, acomputer, a video server or video recorder/player device.

The base station 102 may enable location determination for one or moredevices such as the mobile station 104. In this regard, the base station102 may transmit a 60 GHz pilot or beacon signal via the wireless link108 to enable position measurements and/or location determination forone or more devices such as mobile station 104. The base station 102 mayutilize wireless technologies on lower operating frequencies, forexample, utilizing WLAN 110 b or WPAN 110 c via wireless link 106 toshare location determination information with one or more devices suchas mobile station 104. Moreover, the lower frequency link 106 may beutilized for device position measurements. In this regard, positionmeasurements may be utilized to enable highly directional antennaorientation for 60 GHz transmissions between the base station 102 andmobile station 104 and/or between two or more mobile stations such asthe mobile station 104.

The mobile station 104 may be the same or similar to the mobile station104 described in FIG. 1A. The mobile station 104 may comprise suitablelogic, circuitry and/or code to enable communication via one or morewireless links such as the 60 GHz wireless link 108 and/or the lowerfrequency link 106 and may utilize adaptive antennas. The mobile station104 may enable location determination via the 60 GHz link 108 and/or oneor more lower frequency links 106. In addition, the wireless mobilestation 104 may be capable of receiving and processing GPS informationfor location determination assistance. In one embodiment of theinvention, the mobile station 104 may receive coordination and/orcontrol information from the base station 102. In some embodiments ofthe invention, the mobile station 104 may be enabled to change roleswith base station 102 wherein mobile station 104 may become thecoordinator and/or controller of operations among a plurality ofdevices. Moreover, the mobile station 104 may handle peer to peerrelationships with one or more devices such as base station 102 and/ormobile station 104.

The mobile station 104 may enable location determination for basestation 102 and/or one or more mobile stations 104. In this regard, themobile station 104 may receive and/or may transmit a pilot or beaconsignal via the 60 GHz wireless link 108 and/or the lower frequency link106 to enable location determination. The mobile station 104 may utilizewireless technologies on lower operating frequencies for example WLAN orWPAN to share information for example information regarding discovery,location determination, security operations, application data, controland/or coordination information with base station 102 and/or othermobile stations such as mobile station 104.

The wireless link 106 may communicatively couple two or more wirelessdevices such as base station 102 and mobile station 104 and/or two ormore mobile stations such as the mobile station 104. Accordingly, thebase station 102 and mobile station 104 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code to generate the lower frequency link 106.Accordingly, the wireless link 106 may be enabled to share data, performdiscovery, initiate connections and/or facilitate operations forexample. Moreover, the lower frequency link may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and/or code to transmit and/or receive a pilot or beaconsignal between the base station 102 and/or mobile station 104. Thewireless link 106 may support lower frequencies than the 60 GHz link108, for example 2.4 GHz and/or 5 GHz and may be communicativelyconnected with the WPAN 110 c and/or WLAN 110 b interfaces for example.However, the invention is not limited with regard to specific carrierfrequencies and any suitable frequency may be utilized. These lowerfrequency wireless links 106 may be radiated in a directional pattern, abroad-angle pattern or even in an omni directional pattern and may bescanned over an angle for example. Achievable transmission distance orrange, supported by the lower frequency wireless link 106, may varydepending on a plurality of factors comprising carrier frequency,wireless technology, radiating power as well as physical environment(for example, an interior space versus an exterior space). Ranges mayvary from approximately 10 m to over 100 m. In some embodiments of theinvention, ultra-wideband (UWB) technology may be utilized for shortrange communications among the base station 102 and one or more mobilestations 104. Accordingly, UWB links may support high speed datatransfers. Moreover, worldwide interoperability for microwave access(WIMAX) or various other cellular connections may be utilized and mayenable longer range communications.

The 60 GHz wireless link 108 may communicatively couple two or morewireless devices such as base station 102 and mobile station 104 and/orbetween two or more mobile stations such as the mobile station 104.Accordingly, the base station 102 and mobile station 104 may comprisesuitable logic, circuitry and/or code to generate the 60 GHz wirelesslink 108. Moreover, the 60 GHz link 108 may be communicatively connectedwith the 60 GHz interface 110 a in the base station 102 and/or mobilestation 104 for example. The 60 GHz wireless link 108 may be enabled tosupport location determination operations, video streaming, high speedvideo for multi-user gaming connections and/or high speed data transfersbetween base station 102 and mobile station 104 and/or between two ormore mobile stations such as the mobile station 104. Accordingly, the 60GHz wireless links may be radiated in highly directional patterns overshort ranges. In some embodiments of the invention, adaptive antennaarrays or other intelligent antenna technologies may be utilized fortransmitting and/or receiving the 60 GHz link within the base station102 and/or one or more mobile stations 104.

Highly directional 60 GHz transmissions may comprise point to pointcommunication between two devices such as between participating devicessuch as two mobile stations 104 or between the base station 102 andmobile station 104. In this regard, a participating device may have orgain knowledge of the relative positions or absolute locations of onemore other devices participating in the communication. In anotherembodiment of the invention, the 60 GHz wireless link 108 may supportlocation determination operations. In this regard, the 60 GHz wirelesslink may for example be utilized to transmit and receive a pilot orbeacon signal. The pilot or beacon signal may radiate in a stationarypattern or, the direction of radiation may be varied, for example, maybe swept over an angle for example.

The network 120 may be a private, public or ad hoc network for examplethat may support applications running on the base station 102 and/ormobile station 104. The network 120 may comprise suitable logic,circuitry and or code to handle data that may be utilized by one or moreof the base station 102 and mobile station 104. For example, audioand/or video (AN) data may be transferred to one or more of the basestation 102 and mobile station 104 from the network 120 and may berendered. The network 120 may be communicatively coupled with the basestation 102 via the communications link 154. The communications link 154may comprise suitable logic, circuitry and/or code that may enable thetransfer of data between the base station 102 and the network 120.Accordingly, any suitable communications network technology andcommunications protocol may be utilized.

In operation, the base station 102 and mobile station 104 maycommunicate via a plurality of wireless interfaces such as 60 GHz 110 a,WLAN 110 b and/or WPAN 110 c and over a plurality of wireless links 60GHz link 108 and lower frequency link 108. In this regard, highbandwidth, highly directional, short range tasks such as locationdetermination and high speed data transfers may be enabled via the 60GHz wireless link 108. Moreover tasks supporting the 60 GHz wirelesslink 108, for example, sharing location information and otheradministrative tasks such as device discovery, connection initiation andsecurity operations may be enabled via the lower frequency wireless link106.

Upon receiving a request for service, the base station 102 may utilize alower frequency wireless link 106 to enable discovery of devices withina local region. In addition, a lower frequency wireless link 106 mayenable connection and security communications for the base station 102and/or mobile station 104 via WPAN 110 c and/or WLAN 110 b wirelessinterfaces for example. Moreover, software and/or information regardingone or more applications running on the base station 102 and/or mobilestation 104 may be received by the base station 102 from the network 120via the communications link 154 and may be distributed via the lowerfrequency wireless link 106 to mobile station 104 for example. The 60GHz link 108 may be utilized to enable location determination with animproved level of precision and may enable high speed communicationsbetween the base station 102 and mobile station 104 or between two ormore mobile stations such as the mobile station 104. In some embodimentsof the invention, an initial reference position for one or more devicesmay be known based upon GPS information or another source of locationinformation such as user configuration data for example. Subsequently, aposition for the base station 102 and/or one or more mobile stations104, within a local region may be determined relative to one or moreknown reference positions. Millimeter waves from the 60 gigahertzphysical interface 110 a may be used to augment GPS or other positioninformation and may improve precision of position measurements.Furthermore, antenna arrays or directional antennas that may be sweptover an angle may be utilized to support angle of arrival and or time ofarrival measurements.

FIG. 2A is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system that mayperform location determination measurements via one or more 60 GHzwireless links and/or one or more lower frequency links, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2A, there isshown a base station 102, a plurality of mobile stations 104 a, 104 b104 c, a plurality of wireless links 108 a, 108 b and 108 c and aplurality of angles 210 a, 210 b, 210 c.

The base station 102 may be similar or substantially the same as thebase station 102 described in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The mobile stations 104a, 104 b and 104 c may be similar or substantially the same as themobile station 104 in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

The wireless links 108 a, 108 b and 108 c may be similar to orsubstantially the same as the 60 GHz link 108 described in FIG. 1Band/or the lower frequency link 106 described in FIG. 1B. The wirelesslinks 108 a, 108 b and/or 108 c may be communicatively coupled with themobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c respectively and the basestation 102 and may be enable a pilot or beacon signal between the basestation 102 and the mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c. In someembodiments of the invention, the pilot or beacon signal may be sweptover an angle around the base station 102, spanning an arc thatoriginates from a determined reference point or direction. In thisregard the wireless links 108 a, 108 b and 108 c may indicate an angleat which the one or more mobile devices 104 a, 104 b and 104 c receivethe pilot or beacon signal.

The angles 210 a, 210 b and/or 210 c may be angles measured between thedetermined reference point or direction and a wireless link 108 a, 108 band/or 108 c. The angles 210 a, 210 b and/or 210 c may indicate a lineon which the mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c may be located inrelation to the base station 102.

In operation, the base station 102 may for example function as controland coordination device for one or more participating mobile stations104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c. The base station 102 may for example,coordinate location determination operations for the one or more mobilestations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c. In this regard the base station 102may calculate positions and/or may generate maps of participating devicepositions. In some embodiments of the invention, the base station 102may utilize location information received from other internal orexternal sources such as a compass, the GPS system, a terrestrialreference system, user configuration data and/or other suitable sources.The base station 102 and/or mobile stations may map device positionsaccording to any suitable coordinate system, for example, polarcoordinates or Cartesian coordinates may be utilized depending on timeor spatial references available to the system. The base station 102and/or mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c may share informationregarding location determination via a 60 GHz link 108 and/or a lowerfrequency link 106 as described in FIG. 2A. Furthermore, informationregarding the positions of the base station 102 and/or the one or moremobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c may be utilized to enableadaptive antenna orientation processes for communication via the 60 GHzlinks 108 of the participating devices.

A pilot or beacon signal between the base station 102 and one or moremobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c may be utilized to measure theangle subtended by an arc between a reference direction and thedirection of the wireless links 108 a, 108 b and/or 108 c at the time ofreception of the pilot or beacon signal.

FIG. 2B is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system that mayperform location determination measurements via one or more 60 GHzwireless links and/or one or more lower frequency links, in accordancewith an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 2B, there isshown a base station 102, a plurality of mobile stations 104 a, 104 b104 c and a plurality of wireless links 108 a, 108 b and 108 c.

The base station 102 may be similar or substantially the same as thebase station 102 described in FIGS. 1A, 1B and 2A. The mobile stations104 a, 104 b and 104 c may be similar or substantially the same as themobile stations 104, 104 a, 104 b and 104 c described in FIGS. 1A, 1Band 2A.

The wireless links 108 a, 108 b and 108 c may be similar to orsubstantially the same as the wireless links 106, 108, 108 a, 108 b and108 c described in FIGS. 1B and 2A.

In addition to the operations described in FIG. 2A, the wireless links108 a, 108 b and/or 108 c may be utilized to determine a relativedistance from the base station 102 and one or more mobile stations 104a, 104 b and 104 c. In this regard, a signal that may be a pilot orbeacon or may be another communication signal between the base station102 and one or more mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c may beutilized to measure the time delay from the base station 102 and one ormore mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 c. In this regard, a roundtrip delay time or time of arrival may be measured. The measurements maybe referenced to a shared time reference, for example, from the GPSsystem or a terrestrial reference system for example. The distanceinformation may be utilized to enhance the mapping of devices asdescribed in FIG. 2A.

FIG. 2C is a block diagram that illustrates an exemplary system that maycommunicate via one or more 60 GHz wireless links via highly directionaladaptive antennas, in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.Referring to FIG. 2C, there is shown a base station 102, a plurality ofmobile stations 104 a, 104 b 104 c and a plurality of wireless links 108a, 108 b and 108 c, a plurality of 60 GHz links 230 a, 230 b and 230 cand a plurality of angles 240 a, 242 a, 240 b, 242 b, 240 c and 242 c.

The base station 102 may be similar or substantially the same as thebase station 102 described in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B. The mobilestations 104 a, 104 b and 104 c may be similar or substantially the sameas the mobile stations 104, 104 a, 104 b and 104 c described in FIGS.1A, 1B, 2A and 2B. The wireless links 108 a, 108 b and 108 c may besimilar to or substantially the same as the wireless links 106, 108, 108a, 108 b and 108 c described in FIGS. 1B, 2A and 2B.

The angles 240 a, 242 a, 240 b, 242 b, 240 c and 242 c may enablelocation determination of the mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104 crelative to each other. These angles may be determined from angle andtime measurements described in FIGS. 2A and/or 2B as well as from othersources of location and/or time reference information described in FIGS.2A and 2B. The angles 240 a, 242 a, 240 b, 242 b, 240 c and 242 c areshown in FIG. 2C on a two dimensional plane however angles in a thirddimension or other coordinate systems may be determined and utilized.Accuracy of the of determined relative positions of the mobiles stationsmay depend on variables such as the directivity of the antennasutilized, the bandwidth of the signals utilized and the synchronizationof a time reference.

The 60 GHz links 230 a, 230 b and 230 c may be similar or substantiallythe same as the 60 GHz links 108, 108 a, 108 b and 108 c described inFIGS. 1B, 2A and 2B however, 60 GHz links 230 a, 230 b and 230 c may betransmitted and received between mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or 104c. Moreover, the 60 GHz links may be transmitted via adaptive antennasthat may modify the direction of transmission and/or reception accordingto variations in spatial relationships between among the mobile stations104 a, 104 b and 104 c.

In operation, the base station 102 and/or one or more of the mobilestations 104 a, 104 b and 104 c may participate in communications viaadaptive antennas over one or more 60 GHz wireless links 230 a, 230 band 230 c and 60 GHz links on 108 a, 108 b and/or 108 c. The 60 GHzwireless links may comprise highly directional beams that may bedifficult or time consuming to detect for antenna adaptation processesutilized among the participating devices. Prior knowledge of a generaldirection or bearing from one participating device to another, mayreduce the time needed to detect signal sources and determine thedirection for radiation intensity. Accordingly, the time to make aconnection via the 60 GHz wireless links 230 a, 230 b and 230 c as wellas 60 GHz links on 108 a, 108 b and/or 108 may be improved. Therefore,estimated location information such as relative positions or directionsfrom one participating device to another may be determined via themethods described in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 2A and 2B as well as for determiningthe angles 240 a, 242 a, 240 b, 242 b, 240 c. The determined locationestimations may be more or less accurate and precise depending on thequality of measurements and reference frames utilized. Accordingly, oneor more of the base station 102 and mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and 104c may utilize the estimated location information to enable timelyconnections via the 60 GHz wireless links 230 a, 230 b and 230 c and 60GHz links on 108 a, 108 b and/or 108 c. Furthermore, if a connectionfails or is lost during communications, the process may repeat todetermine a new position fix and subsequent wireless connection.

The invention is not limited to any specific number of base stations 102and/or mobile stations 104 and may comprise any suitable number andcombination thereof.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that illustrates exemplary steps for locationdetermination and antenna adaptation utilizing a 60 GHz wireless link,in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Referring to FIG. 3,the process begins in step 300. In step 302, a beacon signal istransmitted via a 60 GHz link or lower frequency link, for example,wireless links 108 a, 108 b and/or 108 c. In step 304, the directionand/or distance from of one or more mobile stations 104 a, 104 b and/or104 c relative to the base station 102 may be determined. In step 306,the direction and/or distance from one mobile to another mobile stationmay be determined. In step 308, the determined directions and/ordistances may be utilized to inform antenna adaptation processes such assignal detection and/or direction of radiation that may be utilized forestablishing connections via 60 GHz wireless links. In step 310,adaptive antennas may track the movements of radiation sources and/orradiation targets to maintain communications between two or more mobilestations such as 104 a, 104 b and 104 c or with one or more basestations such as base station 102 until a connection is terminated. Instep 312, if the connection has not been terminated due to error, theprocess may proceed to step 314. Step 314, is the end step. In step 312,if the connection has been terminated in error, proceed to step 302.

In an embodiment of the invention, information may be communicatedbetween two or more wireless devices such as the mobile station 104and/or the base station 102. Location information regarding the two ormore wireless devices may be based on the transmission and reception ordetection of a beacon signal. In this regard, the location informationmay enable communication between the two or more devices via adaptive orsteered antennas or antenna systems 118 and/or 116 and 60 GHz bandsignals 108. The beacon signal may be swept through an angle such as 210a, 210 b and/or 210 c and may be utilized along with reference systeminformation to determine the direction and/or distance between the twoor more wireless devices. The determined direction and/or distance maybe utilized to initialize adaptive or steered antennas or antennasystems 118 and/or 116 that enable transmission and/or reception of the60 GHz band signals such as the wireless link 108. Spatial relationshipsbetween the two or more wireless devices may vary. Furthermore, the twoor more wireless devices may communicate and coordinate communicationsbetween the two or more wireless devices via alternate lower frequencysignals such as the wireless link 106.

Certain embodiments of the invention may comprise a machine-readablestorage having stored thereon, a computer program having at least onecode section for 60 GHz antenna adaptation and user coordination basedon base station beacons, the at least one code section being executableby a machine for causing the machine to perform one or more of the stepsdescribed herein.

Accordingly, aspects of the invention may be realized in hardware,software, firmware or a combination thereof. The invention may berealized in a centralized fashion in at least one computer system or ina distributed fashion where different elements are spread across severalinterconnected computer systems. Any kind of computer system or otherapparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein issuited. A typical combination of hardware, software and firmware may bea general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, whenbeing loaded and executed, controls the computer system such that itcarries out the methods described herein.

One embodiment of the present invention may be implemented as a boardlevel product, as a single chip, application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), or with varying levels integrated on a single chip with otherportions of the system as separate components. The degree of integrationof the system will primarily be determined by speed and costconsiderations. Because of the sophisticated nature of modernprocessors, it is possible to utilize a commercially availableprocessor, which may be implemented external to an ASIC implementationof the present system. Alternatively, if the processor is available asan ASIC core or logic block, then the commercially available processormay be implemented as part of an ASIC device with various functionsimplemented as firmware.

The present invention may also be embedded in a computer programproduct, which comprises all the features enabling the implementation ofthe methods described herein, and which when loaded in a computer systemis able to carry out these methods. Computer program in the presentcontext may mean, for example, any expression, in any language, code ornotation, of a set of instructions intended to cause a system having aninformation processing capability to perform a particular functioneither directly or after either or both of the following: a) conversionto another language, code or notation; b) reproduction in a differentmaterial form. However, other meanings of computer program within theunderstanding of those skilled in the art are also contemplated by thepresent invention.

While the invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiments disclosed, but that the present inventionwill include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. A method for enabling communication between a plurality of devices,the method comprising: in a 60 GHz communication system comprising aplurality of 60 GHz wireless devices that utilize adaptive or steeredantennas or antenna systems for communication, communicating locationinformation to at least one of said plurality of 60 GHz wireless devicesvia beacon signals to enable communication between said at least one ofsaid plurality of 60 GHz wireless devices and at least one other of saidplurality of 60 GHz wireless devices.
 2. The method according to claim1, comprising sweeping a direction of a beam comprising said beaconsignal over one or more angles.
 3. The method according to claim 1,comprising determining direction and/or distance between said pluralityof wireless devices based on said beacon signal.
 4. The method accordingto claim 3, comprising initializing said adaptive or steered antennas orantenna systems for transmission and/or reception of 60 GHz band signalsbased on said determined direction and/or distance between said two ormore wireless devices.
 5. The method according to claim 1, comprisingvarying spatial relationships between said plurality of wirelessdevices.
 6. The method according to claim 1, comprising communicatingcontrol information via an 802.11 WLAN, a Bluetooth WPAN and/or aWimedia UWB between said plurality of wireless devices.
 7. The methodaccording to claim 1, comprising coordinating said communication betweensaid plurality of wireless devices via an 802.11 WLAN, a Bluetooth WPANand/or a Wimedia UWB.
 8. The method according to claim 1, comprisingcommunicating one or more of identity information, configurationinformation, timing information and spatial information via said beaconsignals.
 9. A system for communication between a plurality of devices,the system comprising: in a 60 GHz communication system comprising aplurality of 60 GHz wireless devices that utilize adaptive or steeredantennas or antenna systems for communication, one or more circuits thatenable communicating location information to at least one of saidplurality of 60 GHz wireless devices via beacon signals to enablecommunication between said at least one of said plurality of 60 GHzwireless devices and at least one other of said plurality of 60 GHzwireless devices.
 10. The system according to claim 9, wherein said oneor more circuits enables sweeping a direction of a beam comprising saidbeacon signal over one or more angles.
 11. The system according to claim9, wherein said one or more circuits enables determination of directionand/or distance between said plurality of wireless devices based on saidbeacon signal.
 12. The system according to claim 11, wherein said one ormore circuits enables initialization of said adaptive or steeredantennas or antenna systems for transmission and/or reception of 60 GHzband signals based on said determined direction and/or distance betweensaid two or more wireless devices.
 13. The system according to claim 9,wherein said one or more circuits enables variation in the spatialrelationships between said two or more wireless devices.
 14. The systemaccording to claim 9, wherein said one or more circuits enablescommunication of control information via an 802.11 WLAN, a BluetoothWPAN and/or a Wimedia UWB between said plurality of wireless devices.15. The system according to claim 9, wherein said one or more circuitsenables coordination of said communication between said plurality ofwireless devices via an 802.11 WLAN, a Bluetooth WPAN and/or a WimediaUWB.
 16. The system according to claim 9, wherein said one or morecircuits enables communication of one or more of identity information,configuration information, timing information and spatial informationvia said beacon signals.
 17. A machine-readable storage having storedthereon, a computer program having at least one code section forenabling communication between a plurality of devices, the at least onecode section being executable by a machine for causing the machine toperform steps comprising: in a 60 GHz communication system comprising aplurality of 60 GHz wireless devices that utilize adaptive or steeredantennas or antenna systems for communication, communicating locationinformation to at least one of said plurality of 60 GHz wireless devicesvia beacon signals to enable communication between said at least one ofsaid plurality of 60 GHz wireless devices and at least one other of saidplurality of 60 GHz wireless devices.
 18. The machine-readable storageaccording to claim 17, wherein said at least one code section comprisescode that enables sweeping a direction of a beam comprising said beaconsignal over one or more angles.
 19. The machine-readable storageaccording to claim 17, wherein said at least one code section comprisescode that enables determining direction and/or distance between saidplurality of wireless devices based on said beacon signal.
 20. Themachine-readable storage according to claim 19, wherein said at leastone code section comprises code that enables initializing said adaptiveor steered antennas or antenna systems for transmission and/or receptionof 60 GHz band signals based on said determined direction and/ordistance between said two or more wireless devices.
 21. Themachine-readable storage according to claim 17, wherein said at leastone code section comprises code that enables varying spatialrelationships between said plurality of wireless devices.
 22. Themachine-readable storage according to claim 17, wherein said at leastone code section comprises code that enables communicating controlinformation via an 802.11 WLAN, a Bluetooth WPAN and/or a Wimedia UWBbetween said plurality of wireless devices.
 23. The machine-readablestorage according to claim 17, wherein said at least one code sectioncomprises code that enables coordinating said communication between saidplurality of wireless devices via an 802.11 WLAN, a Bluetooth WPANand/or a Wimedia UWB.
 24. The machine-readable storage according toclaim 17, wherein said at least one code section comprises code thatenables communicating one or more of identity information, configurationformation, timing information and spatial information via said beaconsignals.
 25. A method for enabling communication between a plurality ofdevices, the method comprising: in a 60 GHz communication systemcomprising a plurality of 60 GHz wireless devices that utilize adaptiveor steered antennas or antenna systems for communication, receivinglocation information by at least one of said plurality of 60 GHzwireless devices via beacon signals to enable communication between saidat least one of said plurality of 60 GHz wireless devices and at leastone other of said plurality of 60 GHz wireless devices.